St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-07-27
The British Government Finds Itself in
An Awkward and Ridiculous
Predicament.
The Stringent Irish Crimes Bill Was
Passed After a Long Parliamentary
Struggle,
And Now the Hibernians Are So Peace
able That the Law is Really Of
No Effect.
Lord Charles Beresf0rd Gets Himself
Into Serape---The Pope and
the Knights.
By cable to the Globe.

LONDON, July 26.-Now that the gov
ernment has armed itself with coer-
ciOn law for use in Ireland prescribing
punishment for every Offense hitherto
known and bringing into the category
of crime many acts hitherto regarded as
perfectly legitimate and proper, it is
brought to standstill by the discovery
that the number of persons who can be
cOerced even by that sweeping act is
infinitesimally small indeed. The al
most entire absence of crime
i'll Ireland at the present
time is causing feeling of
wonderment among the Dublin castle
and Downing street officials and has set
the worthless to asking each other if it is
not possible that the government has
been the victim of wOeful misrepre-
sentation in its present action in regard
to the condition of Ireland. However
that may be, it will not do for the gov
ernment to back down now and
CRIME MUST BE FOUND
in Ireland or the Tory party must go to
the wall. In this view the government
has revised the list of Irish magistrates,
shelved the old and inactive sQuires and
appointed vigorous young fellows in
their places, with special instructions
to see that no violation of the crime
law is permitted to go unpunished.
These instructions mean, of course, that
they shall nose out offenders against
the structures of the ambiguous and
elastic act and see to it that every per-
son arrested is found guilty. After all
the wOrriment and evaporation the
government has undergone in the
off fnrft tn fha - ~
aSperating to find that there is nobody
to cOerce and no crime to punish. 1t is
not now expected that the recommended
ton of the lord lieutenant of Ireland,
that the National league be forth
with proclaimed and suppressed, will
be acted upon, since 1t cannot
be found that that organization is en-
gagged in acts that even under the law
especially enacted for the purpose of
destroying the league can be construed
into crimes. and the government will
scarcely brave public opinion to the ex-
tent of
GRATUIEOUSLY CRUSHING,
or attempting to destroy body of men
against which no charge of fragrant
violation of law can be brought What
ever may be done in the enforcement of
the act will be done quietly on COM
paratively small scale, for the present at
least. John Morley will probably give
notice within very short time of the
issuance of a liberal address condemn
ing the acts and policy of the govern
ment, and the subject will in this way
be thoroughly ventilated. A fair idea
of the manner in which the govern
ment's proclamation of the Irish cOun-
ties is received may be gathered from
the fact that when the placardS an
nouncing the proclamation were posted
in Limerick, the corporation of that
city and unanimously passed resolutions
declaring the proclamation to be an at
tack upon the rights of free speech and
political organization, and as such de-
serving of public condemnation.
MGR. PERISCO,
having practically completed his work
OF lnqulrlng into the condition of Ire
land. will return to Rome about the
middle of August. 1t is asserted that
the report of his investigation, which he
has forwarded to the pope, is drawn up
on the plan on which Cardinal Gibbons
memorial to the holy father is based and
it is Surmised that the pope after reading
it will be thoroughly convinced of the
fruitlessness of endeavoring to prevent
the Irish Catholic clergy from taking
active part in home rule politics and
anti-factiOn demonstrations.
MIR. GLADSTONE'S ADDRESS
to the liberal and radical union council
at Memorial hall next Friday is expected
to be scathing denunciation of the
governments Irish policy, and as Mr.
Balfour'S application of the crimes act
in Ireland has furnished the world with
another version of the fable of the noun
tain in labor, the ex-premier will doubt
less avail himself of the circumstance
to heap sufficient ridicule upon the
ministry to laugh them out of the court.
John Morley will preside and contri-
butte largely to the humiliation that Will
be launched upon the Tories. The
Boulanger question still agitates France
and the probabilities that the govern
ment will be compelled to notice some
of the stories afiOat concerning him, by
calling him to account or removing him
from active demand in the army are
growing stronger daily.